Long before his senior season at Villanova ever began, 6-8 forward Dante Cunningham went out and made himself a better player. Most noticably, he developed a midrange jump shot that elevated his game to another level. And it helped take the Wildcats to a different level as well.
Last night, all that work paid off once again. This time, at the next level.
Cunningham was taken by the Portland Trail Blazers with the third pick in the second round of the NBA draft, the 33rd overall selection. It was probably a little higher than many expected, but somebody on the left coast obviously liked what he saw.
Cunningham, the first Villanova player chosen since 2006, averaged team highs of 16 points and 7.5 rebounds last season as the Wildcats made it to the Final Four for the first time since they won the national title in 1985. This improbable run would not have happened without him.
He won the Big East's Most Improved Player award, which is almost impossible to do in your fourth season. And he even got drafted a few picks ahead of Pitt's DeJuan Blair, who shared the conference Player of the Year with Connecticut's Hasheem Thabeet (No. 2 to Memphis).
So how many would have projected this even a few months ago, let alone last summer?
"It's definitely something I've been working for," Cunningham said last night from the Washington, D.C., area, where he watched with friends and family at his AAU coach's house. "All that extra time I put into it, it was for this moment right now. I'm going to enjoy it, have fun with it, let it sink in.
"I wasn't worried about anything. It was out of my control. The only thing to do was sit there and wait for your name to get called."
Cunningham has shown he can play in the low post in what was arguably the strongest conference ever last season. He also demonstrated that he can go outside and more than hold his own as well. That should serve him well now that he's trying to make a living doing it.
"I think people saw that over the years, I got better and better," Cunningham said. "I added a 15-footer. I extended my range. I can go out and guard people on the perimeter. I think I have some versatility.
"I've always been that player that's right below the top tier. Coming up through the ranks, I always had to establish myself. I had to continue to work. So it's not something I'm not used to. When I talked to coach [Jay Wright], one of the first things he told me was, 'Don't change how you play.' And he said he was proud of me."
So what does he know about the Blazers, who were one of the teams rumored to be interested in him all along?
"I know they're really young, and they kind of need a player like myself who can help in a lot of ways," he said. "I know I'm going to have to earn it. I have to stay tenacious." *
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